US pushes for talks with North Korea after latest missile launch

The U.S. is pushing for talks with North Korea after its latest ballistic missile test on Sunday, which was reportedly its longest such test since 2017.

A senior administration official on Sunday said the U.S. is still committed to pursuing a diplomatic path forward with North Korea, despite describing the recent spate of missile tests as destabilizing, a threat to U.S. and allied forces in the region and a violation of resolutions from the United Nations Security Council, according to Bloomberg.

The official said the U.S. has still not heard from Pyongyang regarding a proposal to begin discussions.

The push for talks comes after North Korea confirmed that it launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday, which it said was capable of reaching Guam.

Based on the missile flight details, the launch marked the longest-range ballistic missile deployed since 2017.

The administration official refused to detail how the U.S. will proceed if talks fail with North Korea, according to Bloomberg, but they did say a resolution would need to involve the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Sunday’s missile launch marked North Korea’s seventh such weapons test this month. It also suggested the end of the country’s ban on long-range missile tests, a moratorium that leader Kim Jong Un unveiled before his first summit with then-President Trump.

Experts say the Biden administration’s focus on North Korea has dropped on its list of international priorities, with a greater focus on challenges like Russia’s military buildup on its border with Ukraine, reviving the nuclear deal with Iran and the fallout over the U.S.’s violent exit from Afghanistan.

The reclusive nation has thus far refused overtures from the Biden administration to discuss its nuclear weapons.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who helped broker the meetings between Trump and Kim in 2018, used his U.N. General Assembly speech last year to call for “real progress” in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

President Biden has yet to nominate an ambassador to South Korea, though he has tapped Sung Kin, the U.S ambassador to Indonesia, as the special envoy for North Korea.